Tension-controlled switch between collective actuations in active solids

TL;DR

This paper demonstrates how mechanical tension can control and switch between different collective actuation modes in active solids, revealing hysteresis effects and advancing the understanding of autonomous multifunctional materials.

Contribution

It introduces tension as a universal control mechanism for collective actuation in active solids, combining experimental, numerical, and theoretical approaches.

Findings

Mechanical tension can switch collective actuation regimes.

Hysteresis exists when varying tension.

Control of collective behavior is achievable through tension adjustments.

Abstract

The recent finding of collective actuation in active solids, namely solids embedded with active units, opens the path towards multifunctional materials with genuine autonomy. In such systems, collective dynamics emerge spontaneously and little is known about the way to control or drive them. Here, we combine the experimental study of centimetric model active solids, the numerical study of an agent based model and theoretical arguments to reveal how mechanical tension can serve as a general mechanism for switching between different collective actuation regimes in active solids. We further show the existence of a hysteresis when varying back and forth mechanical tension, highlighting the non-trivial selectivity of collective actuations.